They Call the Wind Horrific

This is a picture of the neighbors' trampoline. With the aid of 65 mph gusts of wind, it came to visit yesterday. Steven staked it down so it wouldn't wander off. I suppose it will stay until the wind dies down--maybe next week.

State of the Trees Report

Three years ago, Steven planted about 60 trees on our property in an attempt to beautify our little corner of the world and to bring peace to our souls. This is a picture of one of one of our pines.

Note the growth over the last three (3) years. At least the

nursery people weren't lying when they said this specie was a slow grower. Still,

I have to think it would have done better in California.

A Few of My Favorite Things

I found this kid's book at a yard sale. I passed it twice and then had to go back and get it as a tribute to our dog by the same name. Note: They were both rescues. The resemblance holds except that our Scout's ears never stood up.

This is something I don't see every day. It's a Pygmy paint donkey. I got this picture on the way to Billings.

This is a picture of the Tee pee on which I have been working since I got to Cody. It's coming along. All we need to do now is buy more PVC, cut down the tent poles to about 9 ft. and add tabs to the bottom. The original tent loops do not work.

We planted around $150 worth of bulbs. This is one of the 17 that came up.

Cody has a problem. It is a significant deer population in and around town. When deer are plentiful, predators will be attracted. This healthy, 3 yr. old, male mountain lion was caught just south of main street.

This butterfly was found in our backyard and was kind enough to hold still until I ran inside, got my camera, and took some really nice shots of it.

My point here is that these are a few of my favorite things that I haven't seen in California.

Descendant Drawings

I got the nicest care package last week. It contained a stuffed moose and three drawings. It was from Micah's children so I called Bess to get more information on the art work. The first one is by Hazle. I entitled it Alphabet because Hazel says a letter and then makes a mark.

The next one is by Henri. Bess told me that it is a claw with a maze so I entitled it Claw with Maze.

The third drawing, by Harriett, is super delux because it also has a letter attached. I named it Shoe Shoe, Me and You because those are the words she wrote on the picture.

The moose I named Baby Moose because it's smaller than the larger moose I have in the guest bedroom. Baby Moose and Big Moose are already friends.

Jared and Miya came to visit over Memorial Day. I asked Jared to draw me a picture too so that Harriett, Henri, and Hazle, not to mention Maggie, could see what a creative heritage they have. I have named it Horsetronaut with MoonShrews because those elements were crucial to his composition when Jared explained the picture to me.

I will be putting all the art in my journal for posterity and I have made a new file in my computer called "Descendant Drawings."